Gaining Report
From Jessie Davis,
Ad Hoc Gaming Commission Chairman
Construction or the Permanent Facility
After
undergoing
numerous
revisions, the final external design and
preliminary interior layout of the Chinook
Winds G a m i n g and Convention Center
were approved by the Tribal Council on
July 15, 1995.
You will notice a difference between
the pictures of the gaming center shown in
earlier issues of the Bulletin and the
exterior design shown in this issue of the
newsletter, the final design will be used on
our cover page.
In meetings involving the Tribes
architects, construction contractors, the
owner reps, and tribal officials, the interior
design has been undergoing frequent
refinement.
The site preparation is scheduled to
begin in August and the structural steel
erected during October and November. We
are on track.
Planning for the Child Care Center
Our plan to construct a separate
children's center has been revised. We now
plan to make the 9,000 sq. ft. child care
center an integral part of Chinook Winds.
This is not only less expensive than
constructing a separate facility, it will be
more convenient for patrons, employees
and management. It is planned that the
children's center will include three general
areas: child care service, a fun center and
arcade for older children.
A planning committee comprised of
Amos Arden, Mike Darcy, Jane John,
Geneva Johnson and Kent Rilatos has
been meeting to plan for the children's
center.
Environmental Assessment
All environmental issues have been
satisfactorily addressed except that traffic
congestionáis still a concern of the Oregon
Department of Transportation. Additional
data have been assembled from such
sources as the Ague Caliente and Sycuan
g a m i n g centers in California as well as a
direct traffic count at the Chinook Winds
g a m i n g site. It is expected that based on
these and other data, Kittleson Associates
will be able to complete it's report for tribal
review followed by submission to the
Oregon Department of Transportation. We
believe the data supports the Tribes
position. How much the Tribe will pay
ODOT for alleviating traffic in the gaming
center area remains to be negotiated.
There was virtual panic among city
and state officials when it became known
that the Tribe planned to establish a
gaming center in Lincoln City. Horrible
traffic jam s were predicted by city and
ODOT officials but Chinook winds opened
Memorial Day weekend and went through
the fourth of July without the predicted
catastrophe.
According to the local
newspapers, City Council officials were
amazed that the predicted traffic problems
simply didn't happen. •
Negotiations for Municipal Services
The Lincoln City Council and the
Siletz Tribe completed negotiations for
municipal services. The City Council voted
on July 24 to accept the Tribe's counter
offer to pay to the city for municipal
services, $45,000 for 1995 and $170,000
for 1996. The Tribe has refused to pay the
city the requested "success tax". The
Lincoln City/Siletz Tribe Agreement is
expected to be signed by the Mayor and the
Tribal Chairman in early August.
Gaming Commission and Tribal Monitor
The Gaming Commission, under the
chairmanship of Joe Lane, and Tim Viles,
Tribal Monitor, have been doing an
excellent job in carrying out their
regulatory responsibilities.
Most
of
the
201
employee
applications have been processed and only
50 of the 201 employees have not yet been
issued their permanent licenses.
The C o m m i s s i o n
has critically
reviewed the m i n i m u m standards of other
tribal g a m i n g centers as well as the draft
m in im u m
standards prepared by NIGA
Task Force. Based on the commission's
reviews of these documents and it's study
of the Siletz Tribe's situation, the
c o m m i s s i o n is developing draft minimum
standards which will be reviewed for
approval by the Tribal Council.
For a number of reasons including
the need for the exchanging of information
about applicants, the Siletz Gaming
Commission has taken the initiative of
laying the groundwork among Oregon
tribal gaming commissions for establishing
a communications network.
National Gaming Issues
Just as we have encountered local
opposition to Siletz gaming, anti-Indian
gaming forces are still actively at work on
the national level to destroy Indian g a m i n g .
The
National
Indian
G a m in g
Association and the National Congress of
American Indians have been involved in a
joint effort in August to participate in
discussions involving proposed le g i s l a t i o n
to amend IGRA.